Someday
by BCookkiieee
Summary: A short story detailing my (hopeful) idea of Ziva's leaving NCIS. Goodbyes with each character will each be a chapter, going through most/all of the main characters. Will be an optimistic representation of this situation, so don't go looking for angst here; will address the emotions in the goodbyes. There will be Tiva towards the end, I hope you enjoy! Now on Ducky & Palmer!
1. Vance

Author's Note: Beginning with Vance, very excited to be writing this! Will go through each character. I will try to update regularly. I hope you enjoy!

Ziva made her way up the steel stairs, her running shoes making almost no noise. Funny. She was used to hearing the click-clack of her boots against the metal when she had made her way to the director's office before. This time however there was no uniform requirement. No need for a baseball cap, slacks, an embroidered NCIS jacket. No need for any of that anymore.

It was morning, and surprisingly, the Navy Yard and offices were quite empty, although she knew Vance would be present. She had seen McGee's computer was still off, and there was no take-out containers or empty coffee cups to indicate Tony had stayed late last night and his desk was much too neat for him to have come in this morning. Besides, she was sure she was an earlier riser than he.

She had reached the door and with a slight hesitation knocked. "Come in."

She pushed open the door, stepping inside to the dimly lit office that Vance could usually be found in, signing off cases and dealing with other tedious director's duties, such as informing Gibbs he could not in fact legally hit suspects during interrogation, no matter how bastardly they were. These types of duties often included reminding Gibbs a warrant was required to enter premises, and that no, in fact you could not simply shoot someone because they talk too much (this threat was usually aimed at Dinozzo). Often Gibbs reacted, as he usually did to everything: silently.

She remembered Jenny, and how Jenny Shepard, the director of NCIS, had defended her and supported her when she'd first arrived. How she'd given Ziva the opportunity to prove to the team she wasn't simply Mossad; she was an NCIS agent. This office was where Jenny had given her the opportunity to join NCIS. To join this family. For that she was extremely grateful.

"Ziva," he nodded a greeting and gestured to the chair across from his desk.

"No thank you," she said. Brief would be better. "I wanted to come in and say goodbye. My flight leaves tonight."

Vance nodded. "It has been quite a pleasure having you here, on the team," he stated, and although he sounded quite professional there was an undertone of gratitude and care. "We appreciate and will miss you, Agent David."

She smiled, content to hear the title of agent, although she no longer held it. "Thank you." She paused.

"For allowing me the freedom, although perhaps it was against the law, to hunt Bodnar." Another pause. "I greatly appreciated that action and that choice, on your part."

Now it was Vance's turn to pause before speaking.

"I want to thank you, Ziva. You did something I could not do, and in doing what you did you gave me the ability to move on. I know that bastard got what he deserved. I'm healing now. I can be a better, less distracted, less . . . raw father to my kids knowing he's gone."

Ziva nodded, remembering that horrible, horrible night. Her father and Vance's wife, dead. Her journey to Europe, with Tony by her side to find Bodnar, only to return to the United States after finding his brother and realizing Bodnar himself had remained on American soil, to getting smashed by his car, as she and Tony clung to each others' hands but to no avail, to have him use her honor against her, luring her into a fight of hand-to-hand combat because he knew she would not shoot him in the back. But he was dead.

She let out a breath. The whole thing felt surreal in a way, but the dull pain that still returned every so often in her shoulder reminded her it was real. As well as her relationship with Tony. That had changed massively, and yet she still couldn't quite pinpoint how or what had exactly changed. It was just different, perhaps more so in subtle ways that no one noticed except them two.

She realized she'd been quiet for a bit too long. She gave Vance a tight-lipped smile and he held out his hand. "Best of luck to you. I hope we cross paths again," he said, although as they shook hands it felt much too serious for a temporary goodbye.


	2. Ducky and Palmer

Cold. That was her ultimate opinion of the autopsy room. Cold, clean, white. Cold. She waited for the automatic doors to open, the slight breeze from the vent rustling her hair as she stepped in, peering into the lab. Having just come from Vance's office, she was quite aware of the fact that it _was _cooler down here and that she was not simply influenced by her own mental games.

She saw Jimmy's tea hot on the desk, a habit Ducky had happily passed on to him. Ducky and Jimmy had become quite close, especially in their near-death experience being forced to autopsy in a cabin in the woods. Jimmy really was becoming quite like Ducky, although he didn't have quite the repertoire of stories in his arsenal. She supposed that would come with age. He had progressed immensely though in his work, and Ziva would miss his fun-loving naivety.

"Oh hello my dear!" Ziva turned towards the familiar voice and smiled. "Hello Ducky."

"You're here quite early aren't you for someone who doesn't have to come in," he told her, a warm tone in his voice.

"Yes. I still have to pack my last bag and deflate the air mattress," she admitted, realizing that it was quite early for them to be in. They must have a case. She felt a slight strain in her chest as she remembered she was no longer a part of that.

"Ah, the final moments of leaving a home. I do recall moving out of my mother's home when she passed on. So many memories that seemed to come flooding back. Like the time those little yappers all got outside and I had to go chase them down the street on her old bicycle . . ."

Ziva was content to let Ducky ramble. His voice was soothing. And while she enjoyed his stories, her mind wandered to the times she'd stood in this room. Staring at Andy Hoffman's dead body, reliving what could have been her final moment over and over again. Remembering the fear she had felt, and the strange emptiness she found when looking at his body. No satisfaction, no sense of safety. Just emptiness. She knew this is where her father's body had been autopsied. No, she had not seen it. She had not thought it sensible to put herself in that type of situation, and more importantly there was no way in hell McGee, Gibbs or Tony would have let her down to the medical examiner's domain while she was so fragile.

Ducky was still talking, and she was still smiling endearingly although her thoughts were dark. He was such a good man, and such an intelligent one too. Never failing to reach out to any one of the team members to give them advice, even if they didn't ask for it. It was one of the things that made him so likable, even though offering up advice without precedent for anyone else would have been annoying. On Ducky, it was just charming.

Ziva swallowed a little lump in her throat as Ducky's voice floated into her ears. It was a comfort she had been unaware of until this moment. The autopsy lab was feeling a bit warmer.

Ducky seemed to have realized his story hadn't been interrupted and he paused. "Ziva... are you alright?" he asked, as she leaned against one of the metal tables next to him. "Yes, Ducky. Thank you," she said, as the man put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"You know how important you are to us. Please do not forget we'll always be here for you young lady. Not that you'll need it. As Tony says, you can handle yourself." He said this last statement with a quirk in his eyebrow and a slight smug on his face as he turned away from her to his desk.

Ducky was a profiler as well as a medical examiner. Of course he had picked up on the change in her and Tony's interactions. Ziva opened her mouth to say something, but realizing she did not know what to say she shut it. Ducky noticed. "Yes my dear?" he asked, as he moved around medical supplies, putting things in drawers. Probably appearing preoccupied to put her more at ease.

"Tony . . ." she began, but was unaware of where to finish her sentence and simply pressed her lips together, staring at the floor for a few moments before looking up to find Ducky looking straight at her, his eyes full of understanding and perhaps was there sympathy?

"He may be quite the braggart and fool," Ducky said affectionately. "But there is much more to him."

"That I know," Ziva said, the corners of her mouth turning up a bit at the thoughts of Tony's goofiness. Especially when they'd babysat Vance's children, and he had made a monster head out of the empty pizza boxes and chased them around the house.

Ducky smiled. "He will come around."

Ziva's mouth twisted a bit as she thought about those words. It wasn't Tony that had to come around, as proven by past instances. _At lo levad_. She remembered. It was her. But if he was going to come around _again_ he only had so much timeto do so. He had _hours_ in fact. Not even a day. And even if he did, she still had to address the situation herself. "I cannot tell if it would be better to leave it in dark."

Ducky paused and then spoke. "It may not be up to you, Tony may-"

"Oh hi Ziva!" A chipper Jimmy Palmer had strode in to the lab, effectively ending Ziva and Ducky's conversation. Ziva smiled at his cheerfulness. It was nearly impossible to not be positive around Jimmy. He pulled her into a hug, and although she was slightly surprised, she placed her arms around him. "Ah we're gonna miss you," he said, his glasses bumping against the side of her head as he spoke.

"I will miss you too," Ziva said, her voice quiet but steady. He released her from the hug, grasping her shoulders with his hands, her hands touching his elbows as he leaned in slightly.

"And I better get an email address, because Breena, well and of course, I do too, we want you all to have pictures of the baby. The entire team," he said, with a grin that could only be on the face of a future father.

"I am no longer on the team, Jimmy," Ziva reminded him with a good-natured note in her voice as he released her to grab his tea.

"Of course you are Ziva!" he said as he spun around, tea in hand, surprised she would think otherwise. "You always will be. And you're getting pictures," he said, pointing a finger at her jokingly.

"I would not have it any other way," Ziva said as she glanced at her watch realizing she had to move. "I have quite the tight schedule today. I-I will miss you both," she stammered, as she headed for the elevator to go see Abby.

"Off to see Abigail, are you?" Ducky commented, and gave Ziva a sentimental smile. "Do tell her I need the blood results on that bullet. You will continue do great things young lady."

Ziva nodded. "I will and thank you. Goodbye," she said, her eyes watering as the elevator doors closed and she lifted her hand to wave as the steel and tears slowly cut away at her vision of Jimmy and Ducky's faces as they waved back at her. Maybe the autopsy room wasn't so cold after all. How could it be? Filled with Ducky's stories, Jimmy's joy and the companionship of the two, it was quite comfortable.

She stared up at the ceiling to prevent the tears from spilling over as the elevator moved down to Abby's lab. This was only going to get harder.


End file.
